Joy of living - 2.The inner symphony

All sentient beings are endowed with body, speech, and mind

• Body is constantly changing
• Speech is all ways of communicating with the body 
• Mind: nobody has find the place, size, shape, colour, or any characteristics yet we feel, we think, we know.
• "The more precisely scientists scrutinize mental activity, the more closely they approach the Buddhist understanding of mind as a perpetually evolving event rather than a distinct event"
• Mind is what characterizes sentient beings from other living organisms (grass, tress) and from things we don't consider alive (rocks, water, ...)
• "Even a worm has a mind"
• "Mind is the most important aspect of a sentient being's nature.  The mind is in a sense, the puppet master, while the body and the various forms of communication that constitute 'speech' are merely its puppets"
• "Because having a mind is such a basic condition of our experience, most of us take it for granted.  We don't bother to ask ourselves what is that thinks [...] is in the body or beyond it? Does it exists or is simply a random activity of our brain"
• "To cut through all the varieties and levels of pain, suffering, and discomfort we experience in daily life and grasp he full significance of having a mind, we have [...] to look at the mind [...] The process [...] seems difficult at first because we're so used to looking at the world 'out there' [...] When we look at our mind, it is like trying to se the back of our head without a mirror." 

"If all we want is to be happy, why do we need to understand anything about the brain? [...] When we try to examine the mind [there] is a deep-seated and often unconscious conviction that we're born the way we are and nothing we can do can change that."

"The brain is structured in a way that actually does make it possible to effect real changes in everyday experience."

"Dr Livingston compared the brain to 'a symphony [orchestra]', well tuned, and well disciplined [...] groups of players that work together to produce particular results, such as movements, thoughts, feelings, memories, and physical sensations."

"This capacity to replace old neuronal connections with new ones is referred to as neuronal plasticity [...] repeated experience can change the way the brain works.  This is the why behind the how of the Buddhist teachings that deal with eliminating mental habits conductive to unhappiness."

The billions of neurons in the human brain are grouped by function into three different layers:

• The brain stem (the reptilian brain): that regulate basic, involuntary functions such as breathing, metabolism, heart beat, and circulation.  Also the flight-or-fight response.
• The limbic region (birds and mammals): surrounds the brain stem like a kind of helmet, and includes a series of programmed neural connections that stimulate the impulse to nurture -- that is, to provide food and protection and to teach essential survival skills through play and other exercises.  This allows to distinguish a wider range of emotions than flight-or-fight including the sounds of their offspring and the intentions of the other animals.  It has two interesting structures:
• Hippocampus: it is crucial for creating new memories of directly experienced events, producing and spatial, intellectual, and verbal context that gives meaning to our emotional responses.
• Amygdala: plays a critical role in the ability to read emotions and to create emotional memories.

"The activity of the amygdala and hippocampus bears close attention as we attempt to define  practical science of happiness.  Because the amygdala is connected to the autonomous nervous system, the area of the brain stem that automatically regulates muscle, cardiac, and glandular responses, and the hypothalamus, a neuronal structure at the base of the limbic region that releases adrenaline and other hormones into the blood stream, the emotional memories it creates are extremely powerful, linked to significant biological and biochemical reactions."

Events that generate strong (positive or negative) response are stored in the hippocampus and when another similar circumstance occurs the same response is activated.  Although this can be very useful for survival, it can distort or cloud perceptions of more ordinary experiences  creating a disproportionate response.

• The neocortex: this layer, specific to mammals, provides the capacity for reasoning, forming concepts, planning, and fine-tuning emotional responses. Among humans and other highly evolved mammals, the neocortex developed inti a much larger and complex structure. It is the seat of our rational activities, including problem solving, analysis, judgement, impulse control, and the abilities to organize information, learn from past experiences and mistakes, and empathize with others.  

But there is no area in the brain that corresponds to the conductor of the symphony orchestra.  Like a jazz band although they improvise, the music is harmonious.

No matter how small the brain is cut into pieces it seems we will not find the mind. Buddhist perspective is that mind cannot be seen, touched, or even defined by words.  Just as the eye is not the sight, the brain is not the mind.  It is a perpetual unfolding experience.

If we observe every thought, feeling, and sensation passing through our mind, the illusion of a limited self would dissolve, and replaced by a senses of awareness that is much more calm, spacious, and serene.

Practicing mindfulness may seem hard at first, but it becomes easier with practice. There's nothing you cannot get used to.  Think about all the unpleasant things you've accepted as ordinary (like traffic jams or cranky colleagues).

Experience follows intentions, recognize thoughts, feelings, and perceptions as something natural, neither rejecting nor accepting.  Eventually we will find becoming able to manage situations we once found painful, scary, or sad.

If we try to understand "what it is that thinks?" maybe the answers coming now are confusing and conflicting.  Confusion is the first step on the path of wellbeing.